


Just a Kiss

by sphinxvictorian



Category: Ugly Betty
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, F/M, POV Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-13
Updated: 2011-10-13
Packaged: 2017-10-24 14:00:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/264240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sphinxvictorian/pseuds/sphinxvictorian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In an AU set somewhere towards the end of the first season, Daniel discovers how he really feels about Betty.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just a Kiss

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Desdemon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Desdemon/gifts).



How long had he loved her? Daniel really wasn’t sure. It wasn’t the sort of love he was used to feeling. Not that sharp pang of lust or that sweet slow slide of sensuality that usually made him look twice at a woman.

No, this love had grown in him slowly, from watching her every day dealing with crises and ridicule from all sides. She was a saint, he thought – then looking at her sleeping form on the couch, he shook his head. No, not a saint. She had a formidable temper when she got going and she made silly decisions and got herself into scrapes, but she always seemed to land on her feet. That should make him hate her, that cat-like talent, but it had gotten him out of so many difficulties he just ended up adding it to the list of things that he admired—no, loved – about her.

He found himself, very early in their relationship, turning to her for help, leaning on her sturdy shoulders, not seeing at first how much else was on those shoulders. As he learned more about her and her family, the admiration grew. If a crisis came up, he immediately thought of Betty, as he had never done with anyone before.

Betty stirred in her sleep, and the blanket over her slipped a little. Daniel eased forward out of his chair and straightened it. Look at where they were now: holed up in an expensive two-bedroom suite in a London hotel, Betty helping him try to win his father’s approval once again. A British edition of Mode magazine – his brilliant idea – and she was along as usual to keep him on the straight and narrow.

She’d been up since 6 a.m. the day before, flying to London with him, helping him coordinate meetings with British advertisers, and sorting through endless paperwork that the lawyers in New York had sent along. He had just been about to suggest a stop for some room service, when he’d looked over to see her asleep, her red plastic glasses askew and a legal document sliding down her lap.

He’d rescued the papers and gently lifted her legs and swung them around so that she lay on the couch. She almost woke up, but then didn’t. He was glad. She needed her sleep. It was 3 a.m., after all, their time. He’d let her sleep for a while longer. The first meeting of the day wasn’t until 11 a.m. London time.

He padded around the suite, picking up papers and stacking dishes from their much earlier supper. He heard a sound from the couch and came back over to see if she’d woken up. She was clutching the blanket to her and tossing and turning a bit.

“No. . .Henry, no, you can’t. . .no. . .Charlie’s your girlfriend, we can’t be together. . .”

Daniel frowned. Poor Betty, she had rotten luck with men. Always picking the wrong ones. Henry from Accounting seemed like a nice enough guy, but then this girlfriend of his from Arizona showed up, and Betty went into a real slump.

“Ai! No, Walter, not Gina. . .why Gina?” Another winner, thought Daniel. Walter the stereo-store guy. Cheats on her and then expects her to be happy about it and take him back. What a sleazeoid.

He bent over and put a hand on her shoulder, hoping to calm her. She let out a little sob and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him close. “Henry, I don’t care – I love you, I love you, not Walter, you!”

“Betty, Betty, let go now. It’s Daniel, not Henry. You’re having a nightmare.” He tried to disentangle himself from her embrace, but she only clung tighter.

“Daniel, Daniel. . .protect Daniel. . .keep him safe. . .yes, Mr. Meade, sir.”

Clasped so closely to her, he found himself drinking in the smell of a sleepy Betty, traces of cinnamon and wool and a little sweat from the nightmare. His arms slid around her, to take the weight of her off his neck, he told himself. She felt sturdy and there were some curves there not usually seen under all those layers she wore.

Soon he was cradling her against him, and she was still murmuring things about Henry and Walter. She began to settle, and she nuzzled her head into his neck. He held her a moment longer and then tried to disentangle himself again. She then began kissing his neck and cheek and jaw-line. He had to stop her, she didn’t mean it, he knew that. She didn’t love him, why would she?

Of all the men in her life, he was the worst. He didn’t always respect her privacy or her time with her family. He was selfish and demanding. At most, she liked him as a boss, and possibly as a friend, nothing more.

Her lips found his. He did his damnedest not to respond, not to melt into that softness. But hey, he was the famous Daniel Meade, completely incapable of not taking advantage of a compromising situation. That Daniel took over at that point, just for a minute or two, surrendering to the sensation of holding this girl, so dear to him, and kissing her as though they were really in love.

But then mercifully, she pulled away a little and just cuddled into him, easing her hold on his neck. He gently laid her down again on the couch, where she uttered a tiny moan of complaint, but snuggled into the blanket again.

He got up and walked into his bathroom and stripped. He got into the shower, ran it lukewarm, and stood there for a while. His thoughts were anything but quiet.

This was never happening again, he had to get past this. He had to care for her as a friend, nothing more. He had to forget the feeling of her in his arms, and the feeling of her lips on his. Part of him, though, a very small voice, kept saying, “But she cares for you, and who knows, when these other two guys are no longer in the picture, you might have a chance. Hey, her dad already likes you, so you’ve at least got that going for you.”

He wanted to listen to that voice, but he also knew that this was not sensible. Betty did not love him, not the way he’d come to love her. So they would go on as they always had: boss and secretary, friends, nothing more. He’d get over her; he’d find some other woman to marry and have kids with.

He got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He went into his bedroom and pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt and went back out into the main room of the suite.

Betty was awake and was busy neatening the papers into files.

“Morning, Betty.”

She didn’t turn from her task, but said over her shoulder, “Good morning, Daniel. Do you want me to call room service and get you some breakfast? Sorry I fell asleep on the couch like that.”

“It’s fine, Betty, I’ll call room service. What do you want?”

“Oh, just some toast and scrambled eggs and coffee.”

He picked up the phone and pushed the appropriate button and gave the order. Then he came around the couch and started to help her with the papers.

She wasn’t looking at him and her actions were jerky, the way they were when she was upset. And now that he thought about it, her voice sounded sort of strained.

“Did you sleep okay?” he asked.

“Uh-huh.” Again, that forced brightness in her tone.

“Good. So we have that meeting at eleven with the FCUK people, right?”

“Yup, and the meeting with Vivienne Westwood’s people at two, so no long lunches.”

“Betty, are you—”

“Yes, Daniel?”

She finally turned her face to his. There were tears in her eyes and on her cheeks.

“What’s wrong?”

“I had a bad dream, that’s all. Well, actually it was a good dream, but then it ended badly.” She took off her glasses and wiped her eyes on her sleeve.

“Tell me.”

“No, I can’t. It’s too stupid, just forget it.”

“If you tell me, it might get better.”

She shook her head vehemently. “No, it would get worse, trust me. I’ll be fine, Daniel. We’ll have breakfast, we’ll go to our meetings, we’ll get this British edition going, and it’ll all be okay.”

“I heard you talking in your sleep, you know. Neither of them are worth all that pain, Betty. They’re okay guys, but you deserve so much better—”

“No, Daniel, I don’t. Those are the kind of guys I deserve. Nice guys who make big mistakes, but who are on my level, who don’t mind that I dress the way I dress, or that I have braces or that I have a brain and I use it. Those are the sort of guys I deserve. They don’t get better than that.”

“Do you want better than that?”

“Of course, sometimes. Everyone has fantasies of having more than what they deserve. But that’s just what they are: dreams, fantasies, never to come true. And that’s how they’ll stay,” she finished, giving him a fierce look, and then getting up and going toward her bedroom.

“Betty, what are we talking about here?”

She stopped with her back still toward him. “Daniel, no woman stays asleep when she’s being kissed, unless she’s drunk or drugged.”

With that, she went into her room and shut the door. He heard the lock being turned, and realized he’d really screwed up this time. There was no way she would ever listen to anything he had to say. Her mind was made up, she and Daniel did not belong together, except as they already were.

Now it was up to him. He could either fight for her or let her go. Fighting for her would be hard work, and he didn’t know if he was up to doing that as well as fighting for his place in Meade Publications, and dealing with his alcoholic mother and his disapproving father. Letting her go would be simpler, keeping the status quo. Could their friendship stand all that strain? He didn’t know, but he was just too tired to think about it now. He’d let it go and talk to her about it later. When breakfast came, Betty emerged and behaved as though nothing had happened.

Later, his father found out Daniel’s plans, and the whole adventure failed. Through it all, Betty was unfailing in her encouragement and sympathy. Daniel found he could believe everything was all right with them now, as long as he didn’t look into her eyes.


End file.
